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SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket has been in the works for so long that it almost feels like the stuff of legend at this point (Elon Musk first unveiled it in 2011), but there are signs that it might make that promised November launch. The private spaceflight outfit has just finished testing Heavy's three first stage cores at its McGregor, Texas facility, ending a cycle that began in May. It's not as dramatic as an actual launch, of course (the image you see above is just a conceptual render), but it's an important step toward prepping the rocket for its debut.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk has revealed that the company is sending its heavy lift rocket to space for the first time in November. The company was originally gunning for a summer launch, but in June, the CEO told a Twitter follower that Falcon Heavy's cores will take two to three months to reach Cape Canaveral. SpaceX will need a bit of time after they arrive to prepare the rocket.

SpaceX is preparing a used booster for relaunch on June 17th, but it's apparently getting its heavy lift rocket ready for lift off sometime this year, as well. According to company chief Elon Musk's response to one of his Twitter followers, all three of the Falcon Heavy cores should be at Cape Canaveral in two to three months. If everything goes well, the rocket could make its way to space a month after that. That means the Falcon Heavy's first journey could take place as early as September, which is consistent with what the company has been planning for a while now.

Sorry folks, things are about to get heavy, by which we mean that SpaceX has begun test-firing the boosters for the Falcon Heavy. The company posted a clip of the event from last week, showing a side booster being put through its paces. Elon Musk subsequently tweeted that, when the Falcon Heavy launches, it'll be this powerful, but "times three." The CEO added that "one way or another, launch is guaranteed to be exciting."

SpaceX made history last week when it successfully relaunched a previously-used rocket back into orbit (recovering the $6 million nosecone was just gravy). That rocket body could potentially be used yet again, given how spryly it set down on its drone barge, the Of Course I Still Love You, after delivering its SES-10 vehicle payload, if the company's Instagram post from Wednesday is any indication.

Hot on the heels of Falcon 9's historic flight, SpaceX chief Elon Musk has revealed on Twitter that Falcon Heavy's first flight is scheduled for late summer this year. He also announced that the company is considering trying to reland and retrieve the rocket's upper stage during the demo, though that's probably much easier said than done. The bigger vehicle is no Falcon 9. It's an entirely different beast that has three cores instead of one -- SpaceX equipped the rocket it's launching this year with two pre-flown boosters -- and will be able to carry twice the cargo it can.

SpaceX won't have to intentionally crash some of its rockets going forward. Elon Musk has revealed that SpaceX's next flight, which has a Falcon 9 delivering an EchoStar satellite as soon as January 30th, should use the company's last expendable rocket. This rocket will burn too much fuel for its first stage to attempt a landing (the satellite is simply too heavy at 5.4 imperial tons), but future big-payload launches will use either the higher-performance Falcon 9 (Block 5) or Falcon Heavy and shouldn't have trouble coping with the weight. The new Falcon should lift off at the end of 2017, Musk says.

What's better than watching one of SapceX's Falcon 9 reusable rockets land? Watching three of them land. At the same time! Okay, that spectacle isn't here quite yet, but Elon Musk's rocket company is working on it: SpaceX recently announced that it's seeking federal approval to build two additional landing pads at Cape Canaveral -- giving it enough space to attempt a ground landing for a heavy rocket with two recoverable boosters.

If you thought SpaceX was already making a fuss over the capabilities of both its existing Falcon 9 rocket and the upcoming Falcon Heavy, you haven't seen anything yet. The company has posted updated specs showing that both vehicles are more powerful than previously thought. A Falcon 9 is now known to be capable of hauling 50,265lbs to low Earth orbit, up from just shy of 29,000 pounds. The Falcon Heavy, meanwhile, will carry 119,930lbs instead of the previously promised 116,845lbs. Elon Musk chalks up the improved figures to more thorough testing -- SpaceX hasn't upgraded the hardware, at least not yet.

We've heardquite a bit about the SpaceX Falcon Heavy spacecraft since it was first announced. What we haven't seen is a launch. However, it's now planned for next spring. Earlier this week, SpaceX vice president of mission and launch operations Lee Rosen said that the company is aiming for a "late April early May timeframe" for that first launch. Rosen also explained that the crew is finishing renovations to the Falcon Heavy's launch pad for the initial test flight. That's the Pad 39A that's designed to handle launches of both the Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9. The rocket was first announced back in 2011 with a launch planned for 2013 that didn't pan out. And this summer's Falcon 9 disaster push things back even further. After the first test launch, the Falcon Heavy is scheduled to carry a load of 37 satellites for the Air Force in September 2016. As a refresher, the spacecraft uses 4.5 million pounds of thrust to launch and is capable of carrying a payload of 53,000 kg (116,845 lbs.) into low Earth orbit.

Making peace with US Air Force and dropping charges against the agency has paid off for SpaceX. Its Falcon 9 rocket has finally been certified, giving the company the right to compete for national security launches. Elon Musk's space corp has passed every requirement set by the Air Force, after a couple of years (and a few months of delay), lots of paperwork and tests. According to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, this certification allows more than one provider to compete for military launches, which is expected to cost the branch $70 billion until 2030, for the first time in around a decade. "Ultimately, leverage of the commercial space market drives down cost to the American taxpayer and improves our military's resiliency," she said in a statement.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy has yet to grace a launch pad, but that isn't stopping the company from extolling the reusable rocket's virtues. Elon Musk and crew have posted an animation (below) demonstrating how a typical mission with the heavy-duty reusable rocket should go. As you might imagine, everything goes smoothly in this conceptual clip -- the machine blasts off from Kennedy Space Center, detaches its Falcon 9 boosters (which dutifully return to the ground) and puts its payload into orbit. Success!

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is well-known for talking trash about the vehicular competition... just not when it involves rockets instead of four wheels. Still, that's what we're facing in the wake of a BBC interview. He tells the broadcaster that the Ariane 5 rocket stands "no chance" in the face of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy systems from his own SpaceX outfit, as it's more expensive to use -- and the contrast will only get worse when a cheaper, next-generation Falcon 9 arrives, he says. Musk echoes France's position that Ariane should skip a mid-life upgrade to its vehicle and jump directly to a less expensive Ariane 6. The executive has a point when there's more than 40 booked SpaceX flights so early into the Falcon program's history, although there's something left to prove when the first scheduled Dragon capsule launch ran into a non-critical engine failure. We'll know that Musk can walk the walk if there's still a long line of SpaceX customers by the time Ariane 6 hits the launchpad.

SpaceX has added another string to its now weighty bow by successfully test firing the Merlin 1D engine, which will propel future craft into the thermosphere. The 1D is the sequel to the Merlin engines used to convey the DragonX to the International Space Station, with an improved thrust-to-weight ratio that reportedly makes it the most efficient booster engine ever built. It's hoped that the gear will be ready to make the jump to full use in time for the sixth flight of the Falcon 9, currently pencilled in for 2013. If you're the sort who enjoys watching a big pile of fire being pushed into a concrete chamber, you're really gonna love the video after the break.

SpaceX hit one pretty big milestone recently -- to put it mildly -- and it's now already back with another fairly significant one. It's announced today that satellite service provider Intelsat has signed the first commercial contract for its Falcon Heavy rocket, which is currently slated to undertake its first launch sometime in 2013. Details on the contract itself remain decidedly light at the moment, but SpaceX will apparently be launching at least one Intelsat satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit (or GTO) sometime after it's completed its launch tests, and Intelsat says it'll be working closely with SpaceX in the lead up to the launch to ensure that the rocket meets its standards. You can find the official announcement after the break.

End of the US space shuttle program got you down? It doesn't seem to have phased SpaceX, which is still chipper and chugging right along with plans for its bodacious Falcon Heavy. The company recently broke ground at Complex 4 East at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, which Elon Musk's baby will call home, later next year. With twice the payload-to-orbit capacity of Boeing and Lockheed's Delta IV Heavy, and at a third of the cost, the firm hopes its latest will usher in a new era of affordable $100 million launches. If all goes according to plan, the 22-story behemoth will have its inaugural launch in 2013, making it -- we're told -- the most powerful US rocket since Saturn V hurtled the Apollo spacecraft towards the moon. Budget-friendly, rocket-boostin' PR awaits you after the break.
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complex 4 eastcomplex4eastfalcon heavyfalcon heavy rocketfalconheavyfalconheavyrocketrocketrocketsspacespace flightspace rocketspaceflightspacerocketspacexspacex falcon heavyspacex falcon heavy rocketspacexfalconheavyspacexfalconheavyrocketvandenberg air force basevandenbergairforcebaseThu, 14 Jul 2011 21:26:00 -040021|19991453https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/25/elon-musk-says-spacex-will-send-a-man-to-space-in-three-years-m/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/25/elon-musk-says-spacex-will-send-a-man-to-space-in-three-years-m/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/25/elon-musk-says-spacex-will-send-a-man-to-space-in-three-years-m/#comments

Elon Musk has never been one to shy from making bold predictions, which is why we're not surprised to hear that he has high hopes for the future of space travel. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, the SpaceX founder said his company will "probably" put a man in space within the next three years, in the hopes of sending passengers to Mars within the next ten to 20 years. Earlier this month, Musk's company unveiled plans for the "world's most powerful rocket," the Falcon Heavy, just a few weeks before receiving $75 million from NASA to help spur the development of its commercial spaceflight projects. Musk, it seems, is approaching these projects with an almost sacred sense of duty. "A future where humanity is out there exploring stars is an incredibly exciting future, and inspiring," he explained, "and that's what we're trying to help make happen." Head on past the break to see the full interview (space talk begins around the 13:00 mark).
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commercial space flightcommercial space travelcommercialspaceflightcommercialspacetravelelon muskelonmuskfalcon heavyfalconheavymarsnasapredictionsrocketscienceshuttlespacespace explorationspace flightspace shuttlespace travelspace xspaceexplorationspaceflightspaceshuttlespacetravelspacextimeline16race4spacevideoMon, 25 Apr 2011 13:08:00 -040021|19922712https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/19/nasa-awards-270-million-to-spacex-and-other-commercial-spacefli/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/19/nasa-awards-270-million-to-spacex-and-other-commercial-spacefli/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/19/nasa-awards-270-million-to-spacex-and-other-commercial-spacefli/#comments

NASA has given its seal of approval (and a lot of money) to SpaceX and three other private companies, as part of its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) initiative -- a program designed to spur the development of U.S. commercial spaceflight. The agency awarded a total of $270 million to the four lucky winners, with Boeing receiving $92.3 million to help develop its CST-100 capsule design, and the Sierra Nevada Corporation garnering $80 million, which will go toward its shuttle-like Dream Chaser craft. The smallest prize ($22 million) went to Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which is reportedly looking to create a cone-shaped craft capable of carrying crew members into the abyss. And then, of course, there's SpaceX, the proud recipient of a cool $75 million in NASA funds. The California-based company has already successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, and is currently working on the Falcon Heavy -- a 22-story craft heralded as the "world's most powerful rocket." NASA's extra dough should give a little boost to SpaceX's projects, but the funds are contingent upon improvements in Dragon's crew-carrying capacities, to be carried out over the next year. If all goes well, we may see one of these companies launch an intergalactic 'taxi' service by the middle of the decade. Saddle up!
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altblue originblueoriginboeingcapsuleccdev2commercial crew development programcommercial space flightcommercialcrewdevelopmentprogramcommercialspaceflightcst-100developmentdragondream chaserdreamchaserfalcon 9falcon heavyfalcon9falconheavyjeff bezosjeffbezoslaunchmoneynasasciencesierra nevadasierra nevada corporationsierranevadasierranevadacorporationspacespace exploration technologiesspacecraftspaceexplorationtechnologiesspacexthe boeing co.theboeingco.timeline16race4spaceTue, 19 Apr 2011 16:54:00 -040021|19917205https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/spacex-reveals-plans-for-worlds-most-powerful-rocket-the-falco/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/spacex-reveals-plans-for-worlds-most-powerful-rocket-the-falco/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/spacex-reveals-plans-for-worlds-most-powerful-rocket-the-falco/#comments

SpaceX promised something big, and it's now delivered. The company today revealed its plans for the Falcon Heavy, which promises to be the "world's most powerful rocket." Just how powerful is that? SpaceX says the 22-story rocket will be able to carry satellites or spacecraft weighing over 53 metric tons (or 117,000 pounds) into low earth orbit, which is nearly twice what the Space Shuttle is able to carry. What's more, this isn't just a far off promise. SpaceX says the rocket will be "ready" sometime next year, and the first test flight is planned for 2013. The rocket's sheer size isn't it's only selling point, though -- it also promises to drastically reduce the cost of sending things into space, with each launch expected to cost "only" $100 million. Head on past the break for a taste of what's in store.
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commercialfalconfalcon heavyfalconheavyheavy liftheavyliftprivateprivate spacecraftprivatespacecraftrocketsciencespacespace explorationspace xspaceexplorationspacextimeline16race4spacevideoTue, 05 Apr 2011 16:07:00 -040021|19903842https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/spacex-teases-something-big-suggests-we-check-back-april-5th/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/spacex-teases-something-big-suggests-we-check-back-april-5th/https://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/spacex-teases-something-big-suggests-we-check-back-april-5th/#comments